Super Bowl 2011 / Cowboys Stadium

Hockey, swimming possibilities at Cowboys Stadium, Jerry Jones says

INDIANAPOLIS -- Fresh off the success of the NBA All-Star Game, a bull-riding competition and a monster truck event, Jerry Jones is now ready to throw some water and ice on the floor at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Jones said he is looking at hosting some Olympic qualifying swimming meets at the stadium and has already talked to the NHL about hosting a hockey game there.

Jones said for swimming they would build the pools in the floor of the stadium.

“Now that’s ambitious, but that’s something we’re looking at. I think it would be a tremendous draw," Jones said.

Jones acknowledged that he has exchanged text messages with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban about hosting a regular-season basketball game at Cowboys Stadium based on the success of the All-Star Game.

Now he is ready for the next frontier -- NHL hockey.

“That’s a consideration given the fact they do the outdoor," Jones said. "We could obviously do something like that. We’ve had communication with the NHL.’’

Jones said hosting a World Cup soccer match is a possibility as well.

-- Clarence E. Hill Jr.

(Photo of Alicia Keys at the NBA All-Star Game)

Comparing the projected Super Bowl benefit among Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth

Here's a quick chart showing how Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth stack up when it comes to the benefits of Super Bowl XLV, according to the economic impact report commissioned by the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee.

The chart doesn't include all the categories, such as corporate budgets, the NFL Experience (Dallas only) and Cowboys Stadium (Arlington only). For comparison purposes, we used only the basic categories.

We also didn't include Irving, which is projected to see about $12.6 million in total economic benefit.

Dallas is the only city to top $50 million in direct spending in any category, and it did so in two -- restaurant ($52 million) and retail ($51.6 million).

 

Tens of thousands of visitors expected to converge on North Texas for Super Bowl week

A few more tidbits from the economic impact study commissioned by the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee:

• About 147,000 out-of-state visitors and about 584,000 Texans from outside the North Texas region will visit our area during Super Bowl week.
• About 80 percent of the ticket-holders to Super Bowl XLV will be from outside Texas, and 90 percent of the approximately 4,600 media members will also be non-Texans.
• The National Football League will block out more than 24,000 rooms in 12 cities.

As expected, hotels, NFL Experience lift Dallas in Super Bowl impact sweepstakes

Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said he wasn't surprised that Dallas stands to benefit from Super Bowl XLV to the tune of more than $298 million, compared to Arlington's estimated $135 million.

Cluck pointed to the lack of hotel room inventory in Arlington compared with Dallas, and he's right. The Host Committee's commissioned study says Dallas will see $40.3 million in direct spending on lodging. Arlington, in contrast, will get $5.98 million, the study found.

But Dallas will also benefit from the Dallas Convention Center, which is hosting the NFL Experience, a multi-day, interactive fan event. The convention center has more than 1 million square feet of exhibit space.

The study estimates that the Experience will attract 250,000 people, of which an estimated 20 percent will be "non-local visitors."

Almost $10 million will be spent on tickets, merchandise, food and alcohol related to the event, according to the study.

Spending at Cowboys Stadium, of course, gets counted in Arlington's tally. The study estimates about $8 million in spending for merchandise, food and alcohol. (Insert joke about JerryWorld's high concession prices here.)

Fort Worth's estimated revenue is $119.62 million. The top category is "restaurant," at $29.7 million. Next is retail (sales tax) and alcohol. Fort Worth will host the AFC's Super Bowl team, as well as the AFC fan event and other parties.

-- Kathy Vetter

D Magazine blog deserves props for unearthing contents of Super Bowl impact study

Props to Jason Heid over at D Magazine's "Frontburner" blog, who was the first to report the results of the economic impact study commissioned by the Super Bowl Host Committee.

Heid obtained the report from the Texas Comptroller's Office using the Texas Public Information Act, and sent several members of the North Texas media scrambling after his exclusive blog post on Friday afternoon.

-- Kathy Vetter

SRO business workshop reflects Super Bowl excitement, organizer says

The Super Bowl Host Committee said more than 1,800 people attended Thursday's emerging business workshop at Cowboys Stadium.

The three-hour event was held in the west end zone plaza, and about 500 people had to sit in an overflow room because the main area was so packed.

Here's a short video clip featuring Robbie Douglas, director of business development for the host committee:

-- Kathy Vetter

Watch the live stream from the emerging business workshop

Super Bowl committee announces more new sponsors

Andrea Ahles reports in today's Star-Telegram that the Super Bowl Host Committee has officially signed American Airlines, Frito-Lay and someone "to be named" as $1 million sponsors for Super Bowl XLV.

American is committing cash and in-kind services as a presenting partner in the Century in the Making balloting (which kicks off Monday), and Frito-Lay will be the title sponsor for the Super Bowl concert series, which begins March 6 with Faith Hill at Bass Hall in Fort Worth.

The committee's budget goal is $30 million. Bill Lively, president and CEO of the committee, has said that he has $17 million worth of commitments, but he didn't elaborate this week.

The committee will be releasing a sponsorship statement next month, he said.

Registration closed for Thursday Emerging Business workshop

Want a seat at Thursday’s NFL-North Texas Super Bowl Committee Emerging Business workshop?

First, you must already be registered. Second, if you are, better get to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington (Lot 10, Entrance H) early for the 9 a.m.-noon event. It’s the second of three planned workshops aimed at introducing woman and minority-owned businesses to contracting opportunities connected to next year’s Super Bowl XLV in Arlington.

For the first workshop last fall, organizers expected several hundred participants and got 1,000.

For Thursday’s?

“I think we’re pushing 1,800,” Tony Fay, host committee spokesman, said Wednesday.

With those numbers swollen, the organizers closed registration Tuesday and plan to stream the event live on the Host Committee’s web site, www.northtexassuperbowl.com, said Robbie Douglas, director of business development for the host committee.

“We cannot accommodate any new businesses” in the workshop, she said.

You can still be approved to participate in the Emerging Business program without having attended one of the workshops, organizers noted.

The online video also will be archived. Businesses “will not miss any key information,” Douglas said.

The workshop will be on an end zone party plaza, and there’s seating for 1,300, Fay said. To accommodate the expected larger number of participants, organizers will likely open a second room at the stadium with a closed-circuit TV feed, he said.

Some business owners who didn’t register in time have called the Host Committee offices, asking if they can camp out overnight to get in, Douglas said.

Other business owners have wondered why there’s limited seating capacity in a stadium that can hold 100,000, Douglas said. Another event is scheduled for the same time on the field, she noted.

Businesses interested in participating in the Emerging Business program – among the criteria, they must be 51 percent woman or minority-owned and controlled -- face two deadlines: March 31 to register at www.northtexassuperbowl.com, and May 31 to get certified as a woman or minority-owned business.

Business owners who meet those hurdles must also fit in the categories of goods and services in demand for the big game.

Businesses that clear every requirement get their profiles listed in a guide that the NFL, Host Committee, sponsors, hotels, municipalities, convention bureaus, and others will have access to, in awarding contracts for the Super Bowl. See the web site for more details.

- Scott Nishimura, Super Bowl XLV business reporter, Star-Telegram

Who do you want to see at half-time at Super Bowl XLV?

We're still a year away from North Texas' big game but the speculation has already begun on who the half-time act will be.

The Bleacher Report, an "all-things-sports" website, has put up their top 5 wish-list for halftime acts....with a reunion by Led Zeppelin as their top pick.

And while their choices are all great musicians/bands, it might be nice to see someone at halftime that had a hit song sometime in the last decade...

Who do you think should play Super Bowl XLV halftime? Should North Texas go country? Or stay with the old rocker vein of the last few Super Bowls?

-Andrea Ahles